Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said Monday that the city is prepared to help finance any one of three downtown sites for a Vikings stadium, each of which would be cheaper than the team's preferred site in Arden Hills.
At the same time, Minneapolis City Council President Barb Johnson said she thinks the council will support a casino in the city's Block E entertainment district that could provide financing for the stadium and other city priorities.
And, of course, Vikings spokesman Lester Bagley had the same response:
Lester Bagley, the team's vice president of stadium development, said Minneapolis officials should save their breath.
"There's a viable plan on the table, and the Vikings are entirely focused on resolving the issue and building this stadium in Arden Hills," Bagley said.
So why is this news? Well, there's one thing that is different -- Rybak and the city council are apparently willing to tax folks in Minneapolis more:
Rybak said a citywide sales tax would be the main financing component and that there is support on the City Council to approve such a tax. He said he could support a downtown casino as part of a stadium package if some of its proceeds were directed to the city's impoverished Indian community.
Johnson said there are votes on the council to approve a Block E casino and called it an "attractive option" for the city's entertainment district. Council Member Gary Schiff said he thinks there are votes for a casino but that his support may depend on the developer signing "a jobs plan that invests in high-poverty communities."
The citywide sales tax would be an interesting development, because it would really hurt Minneapolis businesses. If you dine out in downtown Minneapolis, you are already on the hook for a sales tax of about 10% because of the taxes added to pay for the Convention Center, Target Field and Rybak's valet service. I'll bet some of the local eateries will be thrilled about the prospect of piling on another 1% or maybe more. Of course, since there's no chance it will happen Rybak might as well propose adding an additional !eleventy!! percent tax. We'll get that new stadium paid for in a matter of months!
We went through all this back in May, of course. We're now 5 months on and the Vikings haven't changed their minds, for all the reasons we've covered here. Minneapolis can offer everything but the one thing the current Vikings ownership wants, which is sufficient real estate to build the giant parking lot that would bring an additional revenue stream to the deal. So why do we continue to talk about Minneapolis? In the end, I think the reason is pretty simple -- everyone knows what the deal really is in Arden Hills. What the Vikings want is outrageous, but they know they can get it from someone.
Here's a little unsolicited advice for the Minneapolis crowd -- if you really want the Vikings to stay in Minneapolis, you should stop pestering Mark Dayton and Zygi Wilf. You need to start calling on the local plutocrats and get them involved in an offer to buy the team from Wilf. It's possible that Wilf would sell the team for the right price, which would likely be a 1 with a vapor trail of zeroes after it. That's the only way your dreams will ever come to fruition. It's also an effort that should have started months ago, but it's the only hope for Minneapolis now.
10 comments:
Wilf isn't selling unless he's exhausted all his other options - and I'm sure he'd be encouraged by the NFL not to sell to local interests so they could maintain leverage towards getting a stadium.
But even if Wilf did sell the team to say, Glen Taylor, that wouldn't change the reality that the Vikings need a longer term stadium solution. The Dome simply does not produce the revenue necessary to keep the team in the black without NFL subsidies. And the NFL isn't interested in continuing to pay to keep football in Minnesota - at least not forever.
The $1 proposal might work with local ownership if the state also decided to throw a couple hundred million in repairs - like any good owner would do in an escrow agreement with an aging property. A slightly refurbished Dome that provides year-round revenue to the Vikings might have at least a better chance than the snowball in hell than the current counteroffer.
Wilf isn't selling unless he's exhausted all his other options - and I'm sure he'd be encouraged by the NFL not to sell to local interests so they could maintain leverage towards getting a stadium.
Yes, I'd agree with that, FR. A number with a vapor trail of zeroes might change his options, though, and the NFL would be on very shaky ground if they torpedoed a local sale.
And I agree with everything else you say, too. The $1 offer wasn't serious, no matter how much newsprint the Star Tribune uses to pretend otherwise.
The $1 offer IS serious, it's a bipartisan bill ready to be introduced in the special session. I think the deal could be sweetened further with the repairs, as mentioned, and by adding additional tax breaks and relief.
I'm also liking the idea of using the Gopher stadium for some of the games while keeping the Dome as backup for truly awful weather. It would be great to see real outdoor, slug-it-out-in-the-snow Vikings football again.
The $1 offer IS serious, it's a bipartisan bill ready to be introduced in the special session. I think the deal could be sweetened further with the repairs, as mentioned, and by adding additional tax breaks and relief.
It might be an offer. It might even be sincere. But if the Vikings won't accept the offer, it's not serious, anon. Sorry.
I actually have to disagree a little - I don't think the offer is serious.
I was around in 2006 when John Marty and Phil Krinkie joined forces to propose a similar sort of offer to the Twins (then angling to get what would become Target Field built). Marty & Krinkie called a press conference, introduced their legislation and then made zero effort to win support from their fellow legislators, to say nothing of the Twins. It was then, as now, a political ploy so that if the Vikes leave town, Marty and now Linda Runbeck can say, "we tried."
I'm all for the legislation in concept (provided some upgrades are done on the Dome), but neither Marty or Runbeck are going to suggest adding public funds (likely sliced off next year's bonding bill) to sweeten the deal.
Maybe if other legislators proposed the idea I'd be less skeptical.
It was then, as now, a political ploy so that if the Vikes leave town, Marty and now Linda Runbeck can say, "we tried."
Well, yeah. There's a reason why Marty weighs on all matters stadium. No one knows more about grandstanding than John Marty.
So, this bill has as good a chance as the Vikings do of getting into the playoffs?
Could move the team to a major league city like Beloit?
Could move the team to a major league city like Beloit?
Why not, Dan? Check the records -- in 1919, the only team to beat the Packers was the famous Beloit Fairies, 6-0. It's a community with a track record of success in football. Aside from my alma mater, of course.
Belwah is trending up !!
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